Viewpoints: College is a Scam

It was a quiet morning in the newsroom when I jokingly inquired if my next story could be called, “College is a scam.” My page editor and my editor-in-chief were in the room, and both, after a little prompting, actually agreed to the idea.

Shocked and amazed, I felt volumes of arguments and tens of thousands of words swell up inside of me, but alas, we only had room for just under a thousand.

Presented here is a very condensed version of my thoughts on the matter of the American school system, and even then, merely those on college.

No doubt there is enough criticism to go around for every level of our school system, but this will have to do for now.

Consider it a prelude.

(For the record, this is in part a reply to Ivy’s question from Question Month, and yes, I’m getting back to all of those; they will be answered!)

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College is a cultural scam, so says Zachary Porcu

If you’re a student going to college, it’s probably because your parents told you that in order to succeed in life, you needed an education.
Of course, it probably wasn’t just your parents; it was probably all of your teachers up through high school, too.

Further more, this message was probably communicated to you in a number of ways: through media, movies, television programs, and magazines.

The message that college will be enriching and beneficial to every young student is a belief foisted upon the unsuspecting youth from many directions.

Unfortunately, this belief is false. Contrary to this culturally ingrained idea, college is not for everyone, despite what the entirety of our culture tells us.

College is a business like any other, and a very lucrative one at that. But more diabolical still, it is a business that has, through culture and societal norms, become almost mandatory in regards to job security. And on top of this, it is a business that takes your money and most of the time gives you none of what it promised you in return.

First, however, let’s not dismiss the obvious. If one consults the National Center for Education Statistics, one will note that there is a significant financial advantage to possessing a bachelor’s degree.
Studies show that since 2000, the average median annual income for full-timers with a bachelor’s degree or higher was around $50,000 for men and $41,000 for women, compared to the $30,000 and $24,000, respectively, earned by those with only a high school diploma or GED.

This is well and good, but one has to remember that this category is applicable only to those who have actually earned their bachelor’s degrees, and college dropouts don’t fall into this category.
But who drops out of college, you may ask?

The Department of Education tells us that 30 percent of students drop out after the first year, and that a baffling 50 percent never graduate.

Gayla Martindale at State University writes, “It is estimated that 40 percent of college students will leave higher education without getting a degree, with 75 percent of these students leaving within their first two years of college.”

So yes, a graduate in possession of a bachelor’s degree will earn considerably more, but this will happen only to half of the population, at best.

The other half is pumping significant amounts of money into a business from which they will get nothing.
But wait a minute, why are we expecting everyone to go to college and get their bachelor’s degree? Why is our culture rewarding this kind of behavior?

What about the large portion of the population who is not academically-minded at all? What about the people who are good with their hands, who can solve problems quickly and intuitively, and have a talent for interacting with people, or who have a knack for a particular trade?

It turns out these people don’t necessarily need to be in college at all. But again, college is a business, and businesses want to make money.

While it is true that trade schools and vocational schools exist, much of the time there is still a tremendous push towards getting that “little piece of paper.”

The result of this is to pressure those who are not academically-minded into an academic setting instead of allowing them to hone their natural talents.

On the flip side, those who are in fact academically-minded and who actually do need to be in college can’t focus on what they need to be doing because they find themselves in a classroom full of people who don’t care, people who are there only because they are trying to ensure their job security.

And so we return to the wage difference. Why do graduates get paid more than others?

It turns out to be a matter of convention. Do they know how to do their job any better than another? Not necessarily.

It would be one thing if a bachelor’s-level degree actually constituted a set of knowledge or experience that one could utilize immediately.

True, students with a particular major know a little more about that subject, but only more than the layman. They don’t know as much as the experts and they certainly don’t know enough to make them competitive.

Indeed, for most academic or scholarly majors, a bachelor’s degree just won’t cut it.
No, college demands even more money in the post-graduate years before actual, useable knowledge is bestowed on the student or, at they very least, marketable knowledge.

But for the majority of students who do not acquire their post-graduate degrees, an undergraduate degree constitutes slip of paper. The joke is that most graduates end up in careers that have little to nothing to do with their major anyway.

This is because most businesses don’t require you to know what you’re doing, only that you wave your little piece of paper saying yes, college validated my parking stub, so now you can pay me.
What kind of culture is this? It is one that tells all students, regardless of their individual talents and

dispositions, to go to college and get degrees.

It is a system that rewards only the academic, but even then, it is merely a bland going-through-the-motions of academia, a sorry parody of actual learning

And so we come to a sad realization: You don’t have to walk out of college understanding anything. You don’t have to know how to do anything. You only have to possess that stamp of approval, a little stamp that costs thousands and thousands of dollars.

It’s funny, isn’t it? How there was a time not too long ago that college was only considered by and reserved for the “elite”. How only if you were a rich, snotty, stuck up white kid with major connections were you even really allowed to think of heading off to college. But not anymore! Now college is uber mainstream! EVERYONE and ANYONE can go to college now! That’s what everyone says – “GO TO KOLLEJE!! OR YOO BECOME LIEK HOBO!!”… Heck, there have even been kids in my retarded math classes for kids who missed/failed the FCAT in high school that couldn’t even do that class right that would always spout the word “COLLEGE” whenever someone asked them what they were going to do after High School. Oh well…

I agree that college is in many ways a scam, but not entirely. If this were completely true, then why do Chinese, Indian and Jewish Americans collectively constitute a higher income bracket than most other demographic groups? It is because these Americans are generally hardworking and place great value in education. American culture has become very anti-intellectual. We are a nation that idolizes illiterate gangster rappers, brainless eye-candy socialites and athletes and we live self-indulgent, hedonistic unhealthy lifestyles like Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson. The fact that we don’t care about education is the reason why we will soon fail to compete in the international community with the imminent rise of China and India. The value of a college education is extremely undervalued in the current state of the American economy because we never truly cared about education to begin with. The current American economy is like a drug-dealer or gangster’s economy; it’s not about your talents or abilities to do a job, but more based on your personal connections and the ability to hustle your way through life using street smarts instead of applying book smarts and ingenuity to make a positive difference.

“why do Chinese, Indian and Jewish Americans collectively constitute a higher income bracket than most other demographic groups?”

Your own answer to this rhetorical question is only a guess. This is my guess: Chinese and Indian populations are massive compared to our own and we only see a very few elite that are allowed and able to shed the shackles of two extrememly stratified societies. I say that the average Indian or Chinese person is at least as potentially lazy and stupid as the average American. Less so, in fact, for many reasons – and not the least of which is that we can lay claim to many of the overachievers from the other cultures around the world. And they pump up our own college system – both academically and financially.

I agree with the author of this piece that college is a scam and one that is perpetuated by itself and our government. Government interference in the form of “financial aid” has created an America full of over-educated and grossly in debt dillatantes that are over-qualified to work. No wonder we need illegal immigrants.

This interference has ruined competition in the field of education by inflating the cost of a degree (more every year), and then printing more money for people to borrow and pay for it. the decent colleges are private and they are able to inflate their own tuition because of their government competition. The free market system is not allowed to work in this industry because it uses only monopoly money. Who uses earned money to pay for their education? Very few.

i knew i wasnt crazy, people just scared that they dont know how to do shit… my aunt went to school graduated, everybody was happy, and when that died down, the result is her working at a dollar store…….i make music i also cut hair very well ima get my money fuck the system

College is a giant scam. 20 – 30 thousand for an associates degree in human services and your lucky to get a job fileing paper work in a human resources department for 11 dollars an hour….lol. Paying back student loans, your making minumum wage…SUCKERS!

It’s nice to see I am not alone in my doubts. A high school student asked my opinion about college and I told her it was over rated. I couldn’t help but I feel I was committing a sin for advising her away from college.

The only problem I have is that some positions won’t even look at you unless you have a degree. It’s a double edged sword.

college i definitely don’t recommend to everyone, if you are finding yourself, change your major at least once, told by your parents to go to college, please don’t waste your time in college, you will either drop out, or if you graduate is making the same amount of money that you would have been making straight out of high school without the student loans, the only reasons i would recommend college to anyone is if they have set goals, set plans, before going to college as to why they are in college from the get go, know on a yearly basis what their objective is and achieve the objectives, and second have the know as to what you will be making, after college, and make sure that you will be making three times more net worth after graduating per year, than your student loans combined, if not don’t waste your time going to college, in the end it is not worth it, period. it won’t be worth your time, nor your money.
i also want to add if you are in high school make sure that you are assigned into a program in the real world with a company that will show you how your major that you will have in college works, if you can enroll into this type of program, it will be huge, and i suggest go to college, if you are denied or is rejected from a program of the nature, that gives you a warning before going to college that for one its not the right major for you, or second college is not for you, after enrolling into this type of program, work on getting an internship with another company in your field of expertise, during college, preferably anytime before your junior year, why do i recommend this, more experience, more the companies will hire you after graduation, before your competition, not only that but who knows, the company that you interned might hire you before you even graduate, or the program you were in, in high school might hire you before you even graduate, then you can graduate in peace, most companies hire based on work experience period, that’s why i stress this fact, because i don’t want you to wind up with a dead end job, with an excellent gpa both in high school and in college, and graduating college with a whole bunch of debt, student loans, because trust me it will happen without work experience since that is what most companies are actually looking at and not a degree, like most are told, a dead end job you could have gotten without a college degree. if you are going to college good luck i mean that with a good heart, just don’t waste your time and money doing it for no results, i personally fucking hate college, but don’t based your reasoning to going to college, by what i say, or what your parents says, no matter how old you are, but base it on what is the right thing for yourself.

College is a scam in that it misleads a lot of people into thinking that the degree will necessarily improve their situation in life. Even with the “salable” degrees, there are often more graduates than there are good jobs for them to fill. One idea might be for employers to stop demanding that applicants have college degrees in order to apply for jobs which they could easily do without a college education. Maybe then, there wouldn’t be so many young people starting out life in debt.

Most none of what you learn in college is what you could have learned for most jobs during training.

The exceptions are for engineering, medical field, and other technical jobs. For those you do need to study for a long time as the courses are intensive and you need guidance from a professor along the way.

If you are not going into a technical field, forget it! MBA? Forget it, unless you are a harvard, yale guy with connections forget the MBA.

Education is supposed to be a fun experience! Not for loading people up with debt and putting them in despair. Education is free, there is free info on every subject at your library and online. You’re only held back by yourself, not what you can’t borrow.

For most degrees, I think the primary reason for getting one is so employer’s can “know” you are willing to stick through and “work hard”. Why hire a high school drop out? You know nothing other than they don’t want to complete what others can easily do. It is only beneficial to the individual to complete high school; thus employers don’t want someone who isn’t willing to complete mundane things to give them better chances in life.

Repeat with college. Why someone in college? ‘Cause they’re willing to do stuff to get in a better position. More. “harder worker”.

Talent and education are both rarely needed except in specific specializations.

College is a scam as is 4 years in HS that teaches and prepares you for nothing of the real world. Kids aren’t prepared for the real deal. They believe that there’s plenty to go around when there isn’t. They believe if they apply at the right school or go through the confusing haze of entry level requirements, qualifying for loans and sitting through many redundant courses that have NOTHING to do with their major – they will have joined their peers on the road to success.

The myth of education is a con geared to suck more tax dollars out of the taxpayer, into teacher unions and unions in general – then onto the political schemers. This myth also perpetuates that having a college degree is not only an advantage but that a stigma should be attached to you if you don’t. Major companies and small companies alike further this myth by having at their disposal a massive pool of “talent” – who have just spent 4 plus years and tons of money only to be sifted through a ridiculous 3 tierd interviewed process that always benefits the interviewer. Tell me why it is common practice, legal and not considered discriminatory for a company to do a “background” check into your credit and finances? Sure, if you were going in for a job as the head of a bank or you needed extensive clearance due to your job description, OK. But the average job, offering an average salary does the same thing. Thereby discarding anyone who doesn’t YET AGAIN, MEASURE UP to the burdens this sick system places upon them.

To make matters even more sickening – a 30 year old with a 4 -6 year degree is apt to have to compete against the so-called “better qualified” that come from other countries. Again, we keep hearing that other countries put out better graduates thus American companies justify hiring them…at a lower wage. You’ve just been priced out of a job before you’ve even had a chance…this is especially true if money is the deciding factor.

Then you can look at all the subtle “affirmative” action that goes on with hiring practices. Don’t speak spanish? Well the job doesn’t necessarily call for it – but that person has the same degree you have AND they are bi-lingual. It shows how diverse the workforce is after all and once again, more excused discrimination.

Oh but wait…you have college degrees and work experience. You are 46 years old and have traversed the cliffs of your career so that you aren’t made to “look like a loser” for staying in a job “too long”…or maybe you’ve been laid off. You have too much experience yet they don’t really even want to smell you – knowing that you’ll probably expect a somewhat higher salary than the 30 year old.

You have a college age son you are helping to support, bills and can never make enough (or as much as your neighbor who is an exec or an entrepreneur) to really feel secure. Time passes by and still no bites for any of the 100s of jobs you’ve posted to online and through various other channels. Very soon your unemployment runs out and all those attempts at “making money online” don’t seem to be getting you anywhere.

Gee, what’s an American to do? But wait. You’re barely making it while your tax dollars go to ‘ethnically correct’ programs that give free college tuition to foreigners while you can barely scrape by to help your own kid. Then there are the welfare recipients whos vital interests and communities are at stake and therefore are being given affordable housing and job training. Childcare and food allowances are usually included too.

So yep – there’s your American success story for you. Every way the so-called education system is suppose to be there for you is really a scam to keep money pumping through a system where they are barely using any teaching techniques and is practically all self directed.

The salaries of big cheese administrators and their hand picked favorites have had more job security because of the way they vote. While actually more and more demanding requirements and academic rigor are placed upon the student, the requirement for very skilled teachers in schools and colleges have very little accountability. Fail the student, or make it so tough they give up and quit….more money coming through when they make their next attempt…Oh, HOw nice it must be to be tenured…

If schools and colleges WEREN’T such a scam then they would get rid of all the BS, all the extraneous filler (including many prereqs) and just teach things straight; the basics – to – the specialties. Instead, they’ve made a BUSINESS out of making money off of millions of anxious students (and their parents)just hoping to get ahead in life.

And for the person who said why should a business hire a non college grad over someone with a degree and that having one shows they were smart enough and cared enough to go through the massive heart ache to get one…if you think like they do, of course you would draw that conclusion. What better way to assume this is getting more bang for the buck than to discrimate against a person who has worked hard yet doesn’t have a bachelors thereby disqualifying him.

A higher degree doesn’t equal more money. A company requiring one knows that it is not needed to do the job. They also understand that they can be selective but that the salary they eventually offer will have VERY little to do with whether a person has a degree or not. It almost always has to do with how you navigate the interview process and your previous work experience. If you get through the gruelling, torturous process you MIGHT end up with an offer.

Why should a potential employer have access to your credit history? Why should a (PE)potential employer know what you made previously at your other job? Then they have the nerve to ask you what kind of salary you want when they damn well know they won’t be giving you what you ask. The PE: 1, you ZERO.

The decks are stacked in their favor; the education system and the way hiring practices are done are 2 of the most lethal and sick systems in our society today. And its all manufactured and controlled within an elite system that keeps the hamsters on their wheels, perpetually confused and frustrated.

If you are lucky enough to land a job after college and are earning a decent (what does that mean?) salary, be prepared to give around 35-45 percent of your earnings out of every paycheck. Interesting how we just pay, pay, pay…and no we don’t get it ‘all’ back at the end of the year…another fabrication.

Got that credit offer in the mail? Has your bank upped your interest rate on your credit card even though you’ve been paying on time and sometimes even in large chunks? That very system is there to help get you into debt and… if you’re a struggling student, beware…you are in their crosshairs.

This is the most sickest system of them all.

WE are sick as a society because we have bought into a cruel kind of reality that has given people a strange dependence upon these “familiar” systems. WE’ve accepted them as just the way things are. Yet it has only served to make us weak and feeble almost to the extent of denying in ourselves the rights and right to live and function (in) a sane existence.

Just a thought – that over-achievers from all cultural stripes who are out there making shiploads of good gooey cash….not a damned one of them or their education is shifting the nature of the handbasket to hell we’re riding in. (those that do in fact, beg to differ with the ah, “higher powers” are a tiny fraction.)
We worship so damned hard the swallowers of tacit acceptance (and all their lovely toys and accoutrements) that we forget the main order of the day: to impove our world, somehow, for all its inhabitants.
Socio-economic climbers who couldn’t give a damn about that sentiment, are indeed adding more crap to the pile.
I don’t see what’s wrong with challenging any cultural imperative which controls its offspring to such a degree that the last thing they’ll do (and especially once they’ve tasted a social sphere that has a liberal amount of real freedom in it!)….is challenge the system.

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve worked with many college grads. I make as much or more than they do. Memorization doesn’t equal intelligence. Just a good memory. They usually get pissed when they find out I have no college. The worst is the HR department, or the human retard department. There’s a job definitely invented by some over important college grads. It cracks me up watching someone without that piece of paper who is smarter than the person with it. Yet even when it’s obvious they will claim to be more intelligent.